Reservoir tank support structure

ABSTRACT

A reservoir tank is disposed in a housing between a front protector and a front panel removably mounted to the front protector, by a support device. The support device supports the reservoir tank in such a way that the position of the tank can be adjusted. When the front panel is removed and the reservoir tank is moved towards the front of the forklift, the operation of adding brake fluid can be carried out with ease as there are no obstacles above the reservoir tank.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a structure for supporting a reservoirtank for storing brake fluid and the like which can be used in aforklift.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Forklifts are normally provided with a reservoir tank for storing brakefluid that is to be supplied to the brake master cylinder.

Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 1 and 2, the reservoir tank 1 ismounted to a plate 7 welded to a front protector 5 arranged betweenheadguard front pillars 3. As clearly shown in FIG. 2, this reservoirtank 1 is comprised of a cup-shaped body 9, a cover 11 and a brake fluidoutlet or nozzle 13, the nozzle 13 being connected to a brake mastercylinder (not shown) through a reservoir hose 15. The tank 1 is fixedthrough a tank cradle 17 to a plate 7 by bolts 19. Further, an upperplate 21 is arranged above the tank 1 as a front pad to cover electricalcomponents, etc. that may be mounted to the front protector 5.

The reasons the tank 1 is mounted in a relatively narrow space in thisfashion are, (1) to protect the tank 1 from dust and rain, (2) to keepit from interfering with the steering post 25 in which the shaft of thesteering wheel 23 is inserted and, (3) to keep it from interfering withthe leg of an operator when operating the brake pedal 27.

However, with the above configuration it is extremely difficult to addbrake fluid to the tank 1 because it is in a comparatively remoteposition in front of and below the driver's seat. Although when addingfluid the operations of removing the cover 11, adding the fluid,replacing the cover 11, etc., must be carried out, such operations areimpeded by the steering post 25, front protector 5 and/or the upperplate 21. Also, as the tank 1 is exposed to the outside, the protectionfrom rain and dust is not sufficient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide astructure for supporting a reservoir tank that can facilitate theoperations involved in adding brake fluid.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a structure forsupporting a reservoir tank that can protect the tank from rain and dustand maintain the brake fluid in a clean condition.

In order to achieve the above and other objects the structure forsupporting a reservoir tank of the present invention comprises a frontprotector disposed in front of a driver's seat, a front panel removablymounted to a front surface of the front protector to define a housingfor the reservoir tank between the front protector and the front panel,a support bracket located in the housing and secured on the frontsurface of the front protector, and a tank plate for supporting thereservoir tank, mounted to the support bracket for movement between aretracted position adjacent to the front protector and a projectedposition away from the protector.

With this construction the front panel is removed and the tank platemounting the tank reservoir can be moved towards the front of thevehicle. In this way, the operation of adding brake fluid can be carriedout with extreme ease as there are no obstacles above the reservoir tankif the tank is moved out to the forward projected position. Further, thetank plate is normally in the retracted position and the front panel ismounted to the front protector, the reservoir tank being substantiallysurrounded by the front panel and front protector, to thereby beprotected from rain, dust, etc.

These and other objects and features of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed explanation in conjunctionwith the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the course of the following detailed description, reference will bemade to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional reservoir tank supportstructure for a forklift;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the reservoir tank support structure ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of a reservoir tank support structure of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of one embodiment of a tanksupport device utilizing the support structure of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view of the tank support device of FIG. 4 as seen from thedriver's seat;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the tank support device of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of a second embodiment of the tank supportdevice of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the tank support device of FIG. 7.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Here, reference should be made to the drawings, particularly to FIG. 3,wherein the reservoir tank support structure of the present invention isshown. A front protector 30 is mounted to between the front pillars 32of the head guard forward of the driver's seat of a forklift, and afront panel 34 is removably mounted by bolts 36 to a front upper surfaceof the front protector 30. Therefore, a space is defined by the frontprotector 30 and the front panel 34, this space being utilized as ahousing 38 for the reservoir tank 40. Also, a front pad 42 is mounted ata rear upper surface of the front protector 30, this front pad 42covering the tank 40 projecting from the front protector 30 as will bedescribed below. The reservoir tank 40 for holding brake fluid to besupplied to a brake master cylinder (not shown) is disposed within thishousing 38, and is supported by a reservoir tank supporting device 44 asshown in FIGS. 4 to 6.

This tank supporting device 44 mainly comprises a support bracket 46mountable to a front upper surface of front protector 30, and a tankplate 48 rotatably supported to support bracket 46 and able to mount atank 40.

Support bracket 46 is of a generally L-shape and comprises a horizontalportion 46a and a vertical portion 46b extending upwardly. A supportspindle 50 for rotatably supporting the tank plate 48 is mounted at anupper surface of the horizontal portion 46a and a hook 52 for hookingone end of a coil spring 54 is mounted to a lower surface of thehorizontal portion 46a. The horizontal portion 46a also has a threadedhole 56 for threaded engagement with a guide bolt 58 that is for guidingtank plate 48. The vertical portion 46b has a pair of bolt holes 60 thatmatch with bolt holes in the front protector 30. As shown in FIGS. 5 and6, the support bracket 46 is fixed to the front protector 30 by nuts 64tightened on bolts 62 that pass through these bolt holes 60.

Tank plate 48 is comprised of a horizontal portion 48a and a verticalportion 48b. A bushing 66 into which the support spindle 50 of supportbracket 46 is inserted is mounted in an upper surface of horizontalportion 48a through a hole in horizontal portion 48a, and a bolt 67 ismounted in a lower surface thereof for hooking the other end of coilspring 54. Horizontal portion 48a also has an arc shaped guide slot 68for passing through guide bolt 58 mounted to support bracket 46. Boltholes 70 for mounting tank 40 are provided in vertical portion 48b.

As seen in FIGS. 4 to 6, tank plate 48 is rotatably supported to supportbracket 46 by nesting bushing 66 of tank plate 48 on the support spindle50 of support bracket 46 fixed to front protector 30 and engaging a snapring 72 into a groove around the periphery of the top end of spindle 50.The guide bolt 58 is next passed through the guide slot 68 of tank plate48 and threaded into the threaded portion of threaded hole 56 of supportbracket 46. When the guide bolt 58 is tightly threaded into the threadedhole 56, the tank plate 48 is fixed to the support bracket 46. If theguide bolt 58 is loosened, the tank plate 48 can be rotated within therange of the guide slot 68, between the retracted position (positionrepresented by solid lines in FIG. 6) and the projected position(position represented by broken lines in FIG. 6). The coil spring 54 ismounted between the bolt 67 extending down from support plate 48 andhook 52 of support plate 46, this spring 54 acting to pull the tankplate 48 to the rear of the vehicle when the tank plate is in aretracted position and to rotate the tank plate 48 towards the front ofthe vehicle when it is in a projected position.

The reservoir tank 40 is comprised of a cup shaped body 40a, a cover 40band a nozzle 40c. As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, a ring bracket 74 is wrappedaround the cup shaped body 40a, the end of the bracket 74 being clampedby a bolt 76 and a nut 78 to fix the body 40a to the ring bracket 74.Ring bracket 74 has a mounting plate 80, the mounting plate 80 havingbolt holes 82 that match the bolt holes 70 in the vertical portion 48aof the tank plate 48. Accordingly, the ring bracket 74, and in turn thetank 40, can be fixed to the tank plate 48 by nuts 86 threaded ontobolts 84 passed through these bolt holes 70 and 82. A reservoir hose 88to the master cylinder (not shown) is connected to nozzle 40c.

As described above, the tank plate 48 affixing the tank 40 is normallypulled towards the front protector 30 by the coil spring 54, and fixedthere by the guide bolt 58. In this condition, although the tank 40 isdisposed within the housing 38 between the front protector 30 and thefront panel 34, due to space limitations the rear portion of the tank 40protrudes from a rectangular opening 90 arranged in the front protector30. This protruding portion of tank 40 is covered by a front pad 42 asshown in FIG. 3. Further, a window may preferably be provided in aportion of front panel 34 facing tank 40 to allow confirmation of brakefluid level in the tank 40.

When carrying out an operation to add brake fluid, the front panel 34 isfirst removed. Next, the guide bolt 58 is loosened to release the fixedcondition of tank plate 48 and support bracket 46. However, guide bolt58 should not be removed from threaded hole 56 of support bracket 46 atthis time. The tank plate 48 is then rotated forward (arrow A in FIG. 6)around the support spindle 50 until reaching the projecting positionwhere guide bolt 58 touches the rear end of guide slot 68. During thisrotation, the coil spring 54 between the support bracket 46 and the tankplate 48 passes its dead point to urge the tank plate 48 forward, andmaintains it in the projecting position. Accordingly, there is nothingthat will get in the way above the tank 40, and the removal of the cover40b, the addition of brake fluid and replacement of the cover 40b can beeasily carried out. When the tank plate 48 is subsequently pushed backagainst the force of spring 54, the tank plate 48 will be pulledrearwards as soon as the coil spring 54 passes dead center again, thetank plate automatically returning to its retracted position. The guidebolt 58 is then tightened in threaded hole 56 of support bracket 46 tofix tank bracket 48. Finally, by mounting the front panel 34 to thefront protector 30, the tank 40 is again disposed within the housing 38where it is essentially unaffected by rain, dust, etc.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show another embodiment of the reservoir tank supportdevice of the present invention. This support device 44' differs fromthe first embodiment in that the vertical portion 46b' of supportbracket 46' extends downwardly and in that there is no coil springbetween support bracket 46' and tank plate 48. In this case, if theguide bolt 58 of tank plate 48 is not tightened, the tank plate canmove, but it is advantageous in that the construction is simple. Inother aspects this embodiment is essentially the same as the firstembodiment and similar portions are labelled with the same referencenumerals and explanation thereof being dispensed with for brevity.

It is thought that the present invention and many of its attendantadvantages will be understood from the foregoing description and it willbe apparent that various changes may be made in the form, constructionand arrangement thereof without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the formhereinbefore described being merely a preferred or exemplary embodimentthereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. A structure in a forklift for supporting areservoir tank for brake fluid, comprising:a front protector disposed infront of a driver's seat; a front panel removably mounted on a frontsurface of said front protector to define a housing for the reservoirtank between said front protector and said front panel; a supportbracket located in said housing and secured on the front surface of saidfront protector, said support bracket having a vertical support spindlemounted thereon; and a tank plate for supporting the reservoir tank,said tank plate being mounted on said vertical support spindle on saidsupport bracket for horizontal pivotal movement between a retractedposition adjacent to said front surface of said front protector and aprojected position away from said front surface towards and beyond saidfront panel.
 2. The reservoir tank support structure of claim 1,including releasable means for securing said tank plate at its saidretracted position.
 3. The reservoir tank support structure of claim 1,which further comprises horizontal spring means mounted between saidsupport bracket and said tank plate at a location on the latter tomaintain said tank plate in each of its said retracted position and itssaid projected position.
 4. A device for supporting a reservoir tank forbrake fluid on a body of a forklift including:a support bracket mountedon the forklift body; and a tank plate for supporting the reservoirtank, said tank plate being mounted on said support bracket forhorizontal pivotal movement.
 5. The reservoir tank support device ofclaim 4, including releasable means for securing said tank plate at adesired position.